Off Home
by Estel
Summary: Episode II in the Home Again Quadrilogy
1. Default Chapter

Home Again- Chapter One- What new devilry is this?  
  
This is the Sequel to "Return of the Ring". If you are confuzzled, please go and read that first. If you remember right, it was sometime on Winter Break that we last left off at in Leah's world before jumping ahead to where Samwise is 'dead', as is Gandalf. About four or five months passed before she left for Middle-Earth, hence the dates. I don't own any of the songs, characters (except the ones I created, and even those are molded on real/fictional people) mentioned within this fic. Also, there are some inside jokes mentioned that only my two dearest readers and friends (besides you, Snowling…lol) will understand.  
  
I rushed back to my room to find all nine waiting for me. I looked around at their faces. I frowned. Choosing was not going to be an easy. I would take Frodo, Nikki, Sam, Samwise, Legolas, but what about Aragorn and Gandalf? He DID say I could take as many as I wanted, but… All right. Seven it would be, then. But… wait. I was forgetting Merry and Pippin. Would nine be too many? I didn't know. I was looking around and feeling very stupid when Elrond walked in. He was breathing hard, and had obviously run here.  
  
"Good. You're not gone yet. I wanted to tell you about one last thing. If you want to let more people experience it but do not want to take many people, you can use an elvish spell. The spell 'hebeo' will let someone into your point of view. Just concentrate on the person or people and say 'hebeo'. The people left behind will lie as if in a trance. Also, when you're there, you'll all have the mind connection. To have only certain people hear your thoughts, think of them when you think."  
  
I nodded. "I cannot thank you enough, Elrond." I said.  
  
"Think nothing of it. I just hope you'll remember everything after forty years." He turned on his heel and left.  
  
I turned.  
  
"Let's go," I said. "Everyone pair up except Nikki, Frodo, and Legolas."  
  
Sam and Samwise paired up quickly- they had taken a liking to each other. Merry and Pippin paired up, as did Aragorn and Gandalf.  
  
In the end, the six to go with me were Nikki, Legolas, Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, and Gandalf. After the spell had been set, I held out the chain to the six and cast a last look around. I concentrated on my world, my bedroom, and the world disappeared.  
  
When I opened my eyes, all of us were standing in my old room. I hadn't been to this place in more than forty years. I looked around in amazement.  
  
"Wow…" gasped everyone who hadn't been there.  
  
"Welcome home," I told them. "Or what will be home for two months."  
  
I, finally realizing that I was back home, looked around wildly. What had been happening when I left? Oh, yes. It was a weekend blast; Andrea, Ivy, Rachel, and Nikki (AN: Not her daughter, her daughter is named after her friend) were coming over to spend the night tonight and my mom would get home in about an hour. It was the first of July, and seeing as it was my birthday, I was celebrating. I collapsed on the bed, grinning.  
  
"Mom, what's this?" Nikki distracted me from my thoughts by pointing to the CD player.  
  
"That's a CD player," I said. Her brow knitted together, as did the forehead of everyone but Frodo. I smiled and crossed the room. I searched around for a second before finding my CD wallet, and pulled out a CD. The first song was "Promise," by Eve 6. I studied the CD for a second.  
  
"Check this out," I said, grinning as I pushed the "open" button on the CD player. The others stared open-mouthed while the CD tray came out and I placed the CD in. I pushed "close" and then "play," and they started even more wildly as the music came on and I started nodding to the lyrics.  
  
Sleeping through the evening singing dreams inside my head I'm heading out I've got some ins who say they care and they just might  
  
Run away with you if things don't go as planned,  
  
Planned and It could be a gamble I've already rolled the dice  
  
I spit and stutter, stuff and clutter, worries in my worry corner  
  
Maladjusted just untrusted rust and sometimes brilliant busted thoughts  
  
Think I'll stay for a while  
  
I'm intrigued and I'm-  
  
I paused the music.  
  
"You don't like it, do you?"  
  
Most of them didn't respond.  
  
"It takes some getting used to," I said. "Here," I turned to the next song- Enya's Wild Child.  
  
Ever close your eyes  
  
Ever stop and listen  
  
Ever feel alive  
  
And do nothing missin'  
  
You don't need a reason  
  
Let the day go on and on  
  
Let the rain fall down  
  
Everywhere around you  
  
Give into it now  
  
Let the day surround you  
  
You don't need a reason,  
  
Let the rain go on and on.  
  
By this point, they were smiling.  
  
"This is like the music of the elves," Legolas remarked. I smiled. This was more like it.  
  
I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Of course. I had forgotten that Nikki and Rachel were coming early.  
  
"That's Nikki," I thought.  
  
"What?" asked Legolas. I smiled.  
  
"The one you," I pointed at my daughter, "Are named for."  
  
I ran to the door and threw it open. Nikki was standing nearest the door, so she was the one I attacked first.  
  
"NIKKI!" I shouted. She was thrown backwards as I threw my arms around her.  
  
"Let me go!" she choked.  
  
I looked over her shoulder.  
  
"RACHEL!" I yelled, and proceeded to do the same scene with my other friend.  
  
"Holy God-" Rachel glared at her, "-You act as if you haven't seen us in years."  
  
"You have no idea."  
  
They looked at me, exchanged glances, and shrugged.  
  
"Come on, come in!" I exclaimed, ushering them from the porch to the entry hall.  
  
"Umm…Leah?" Nikki asked.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I think you've seen Lord of the Rings too many times."  
  
I laughed.  
  
"Again, my friend, you have no idea."  
  
"What's happening?" Pippin asked.  
  
"You all comfortable?" I mind-asked my bedroom full of companions.  
  
They replied, saying they were indeed comfortable, and I pretended to cough. With my hand still hidden behind my hand, I whispered.  
  
"Hebeo," I said, and promptly felt slightly dizzy.  
  
"What?" Nikki asked, looking concernedly at Rachel.  
  
""Nothing," I said. "Nothing at all."  
  
"Right…"  
  
A/N poll: Review to vote!!!  
  
Should Nikki and Rachel find out about Leah's adventures, or what? Olorin and Morely's votes count x10. Basically, the answer is "Yes" already, right? Right! What did you all think? Is it worthy of being a sequel? Well, ill warn you. This is a quadrilogy- four stories, of which this is the second.  
  
TAFN (That's All For Now)! 


	2. My guy

Chapter Two- My guy  
  
A/N- In this fic, just like in the Return of the Ring, the hobbits are human sized.  
  
My two best friends looked at me and then at each other. Nikki shrugged.  
  
"Anyway, we thought we'd give you your secret birthday presents a bit early." I smiled at these words. The two always gave me a regular gift, something small, for public show, and then something more special and private, something for no one but the three of us to know of. It was a grand tradition that our circle of friends followed for each of our birthdays. They didn't know anything of my adventures, and I felt very guilty to keep secrets, but they wouldn't believe me.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Rachel, seeing my expression and growing worried.  
  
"N-Nothing," I said, giving a fake smile. They saw through it.  
  
"Really, what is it?" Nikki asked.  
  
"I can't tell you, you wouldn't believe me."  
  
"Of course we would!"  
  
"No, you wouldn't."  
  
"Lemme guess… Frodo Baggins popped out of thin air and began talking to you. Then you got sucked through a vortex into middle earth." Rachel said.  
  
I looked at her. She raised an eyebrow and I sat back. She and Nikki gasped.  
  
"Really?" Nikki asked. I nodded.  
  
"How did you return in time?"  
  
"He fixed it so I would."  
  
"Who? Frodo?"  
  
"Gandalf."  
  
"Oh."  
  
They sat back, stunned, until Rachel broke the silence.  
  
"How long were you gone?"  
  
"Forty years."  
  
"You're kidding."  
  
"Alas, no. I knew you wouldn't believe me."  
  
"Oh well." Nikki said. "Hey, did you ever make out with Frodo?"  
  
"Nikki!" Rachel exclaimed.  
  
Nikki dodged Rachel smack and raised her eyebrows. "So?"  
  
I laughed. "You could say that."  
  
"Wow… So my friend is forty years older than me."  
  
"No, not here. Only there, but you never go to that world."  
  
Rachel's eyes lit up. "Could we?" she asked.  
  
I shook my head. "I don't think Elrond would be happy if I brought anyone from this world back."  
  
"Bummer. So, when do you go back? Whenever you want?"  
  
"In two months, and then I can never come back."  
  
Both of the girls' eyes widened.  
  
"Don't worry," I said. "We have two months."  
  
They cast their eyes down.  
  
I asked everyone quickly via mind-connection if I could tell my friends of their presence. Their answer pleased me. They also said that if I told Nikki and Rachel about them, the two would be able to see them. All of them.  
  
"I brought some friends with me," I said. I looked down, pretending to tie my shoe, and whispered.  
  
"Hebeo."  
  
Shortly after this, my six companions came out of my room, the door of which was open.  
  
"Friends?" Nikki asked. I nodded.  
  
"Who did you bring?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Legolas, Frodo, Samwise, Pippin, Gandalf, and-" I paused, laughing.  
  
"-And Nikki." I finished.  
  
"Nikki?" Asked Rachel, looking at the other girl.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Who's Nikki?"  
  
"My… umm… my daughter."  
  
"Daughter?" Nikki snickered. "I take that to mean you didn't just make out."  
  
"Um...yeah…"  
  
Rachel distracted Nikki and me at that moment.  
  
"Uhh…" she said, looking past me in the direction of my room.  
  
"Oh yeah…" I said, grinning. "You need introductions."  
  
I stood up.  
  
"Guys, this is Frodo, Pippin, Legolas, Sam, Gandalf," I paused and gave a grin. "And Nikki. Everyone, this is Nikki and Rachel."  
  
After hands had been shaken and hello's exchanged, the phone began to ring. I ran over and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
I heard Ivy's voice on the other end, though she sounded sick.  
  
"Leah? I can't come tonight. I'm sick."  
  
"I'm sorry," I said.  
  
"Well, I have to go. I just wanted to tell you."  
  
Shortly after I got off the phone, Andrea called and what she had to say amounted to the same thing Ivy had said. I told the others.  
  
That night passed fairly uneventfully. Most of the night we spent in my room, talking over the details and me telling about my journey.  
  
When it was finally time for bed, my two friends noted with amusement that us three all slept pretty far apart. Thankfully, my bedroom was fairly large with a lot of empty floor space. I slept on the far left, with Frodo on my left. On my right slept Sam, then Rachel, then Pippin, then Nikki (my friend). Next to Nikki slept Legolas, with the other Nikki next to him. Gandalf slept slightly apart from the rest, a few feet away from my daughter. I smiled as I heard my two friends begin to breathe slower but I noted with amusement that all six of my companions were still awake.  
  
"Go to sleep," I told them. I laughed. "These borders are well protected." They smiled and most went to sleep, but Legolas, Nikki and Frodo were still awake. I rolled over on my side to face Frodo. I smiled and he returned the expression. Looking once more over my shoulder to make sure no one was awake, I put an arm around his shoulder. He smiled and pulled my head to his chest. I smiled, thinking about how, for two months, I'd have everything- my friends, my family, and my guy. Perfect.  
  
  
  
Seeing Leah and Frodo, Nikki reached over and poked Rachel.  
  
"Ow!" she hissed softly. Nikki put a finger to her lips and pointed at Leah and Frodo. Rachel smiled and leaned over Pippin's head to whisper in Nikki's ear.  
  
"That's so sweet!" She said. Nikki made gagging motions and went back to sleep.  
  
  
  
Legolas turned over and looked at Nikki. Her eyes were closed, and she appeared asleep, but he knew it was not so. He smiled and kissed her forehead. Her blue eyes fluttered open and she looked into his grey-blue ones. She smiled as he hesitated on what to do. She solved the problem for him by reaching up with one hand and pulling his head down for his lips to meet hers. He stiffened at first but then relaxed into the kiss after a moment. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck, pulling him closer. She smiled as he spoke in her mind.  
  
"Nikki?" He asked, looking nervous.  
  
"Yes, Legolas?" She replied, absentmindedly running a finger through his long blond hair.  
  
"I was wondering-" He hesitated, and Nikki could feel his heart beating slightly faster.  
  
"What were you wondering?" Nikki asked with a voice such as one might use to talk to a child.  
  
"I was wondering if, once we got back," He took a deep breath, "If you'd marry me."  
  
Nikki gasped, her eyes and mouth wide. She slowly closed her mouth and smiled. She then pulled his head so his lips could meet hers.  
  
(A/N: Snowling impression: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!)  
  
After they separated ever so slightly, putting about an inch between their lips, a slow moment passed before Legolas spoke.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She leaned in and kissed him passionately once more before answering.  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me."  
  
  
  
When I woke up and looked up at Frodo, who was sleeping peacefully next to me, protective arms around my waist, I couldn't help but smile. I kissed his cheek and his eyes fluttered open. He saw it was me and smiled in an almost child-like way up at me, his blue eyes reflecting what little light there was in the room. I put my hand on the side of his cheek, cupping his face in my hand, and leaned forward to whisper in his ear after casting a meaningful look towards Nikki and Legolas.  
  
"I for one think they're making out pretty damn well."  
  
He smiled and I leaned in to kiss him. 


	3. Numero tres

1 Chapter Three- Of Movies and Crazy Dancing  
  
Sorry (well, maybe it isn't so bad for some of you) that this chapter is so LONG, but… well… I want to make each posting pretty long because I can't always get online when I'm at a good place to stop. Deal with it, and thank god it isn't twelve and a half pages (as of this author's note), like a chapter in Return of the Ring.  
  
The next day, we all woke up early. After another few hours of questions and breakfast (my mom had to work), Nikki's parents came to pick her up, because Rachel was staying later. (Olorin, U rock!!!) After a few minutes of trying to figure out what to do, we finally decided to put on some music and dance (Hopefully NOT to Cyndi Lauper, Olorin!).  
  
The first CD we decided to listen to was the Beatles. The first song began playing and the swing dancing we had learned at summer camp kicked in. The assorted hobbits and otherwise looked on in amusement as we danced for a while. After a while, we collapsed, exhausted, and Frodo walked over.  
  
"You think you could teach us to do that?" He asked. I looked at him and then at Rachel. She raised an eyebrow and I started laughing. Everyone looked at me curiously.  
  
"God, what is it with you people and raising one eyebrow?"  
  
Rachel shook her head and I stopped laughing.  
  
"Okay, I guess we could show you how." I said, adopting a more serious attitude.  
  
After about half an hour, we had almost all of them able to dance without tripping over their own feet. For the hobbits, this was practically a miracle. We taught them several various moves.  
  
I laughed. Though I was twirling around very fast, dancing with Frodo, I could see Legolas and Nikki dancing, Pippin and Sam dancing, and Rachel and Gandalf watching on in amusement.  
  
Just as all was going well and no one was falling or tripping or anything of the like, we were all very surprised by a knock at the door. I frowned as I struggled to get up from where I had landed next to Frodo. All six of us dancing had fallen, and it was rather funny. I got up, chuckling at an image of Legolas falling on top of Nikki still fresh in my mind. I shook my head.  
  
"Coming!" I yelled to the person at the door.  
  
  
  
Unfortunately, it was Rachel's parents. She had to go home about an hour early, but her parents had lost my number, so they decided to come by. Shutting the door behind them and waving over my shoulder through the pane of glass at the top, I walked back into the living room where all six of my companions were waiting. They looked at me, now disentangled from the heap of elf and hobbit they had been in. Frodo looked up at me.  
  
"What now?" I asked. They shrugged and I thought for a second.  
  
"What is there to do? We could listen to music, or watch a movie, or…" I paused. Of course! Why hadn't I thought of it before?  
  
"I got it." I announced. They looked at me in curiosity.  
  
"We'll watch Lord of the Rings!" I said perkily. I was, with the use of pirated software, able to watch the Lord of the Rings movie on my computer. The six looked at me inquiringly. I sighed and walked into my room. I turned on the computer and started a media program. They all sat around me and behind me as I clicked the file name for the first segment (Since the movie is so long, it was in three parts). They gaped in awe as the movie screen showed the history of the Ring. I clicked on the button to make the screen full-sized, so we didn't have to watch the movie on a screen the size of a postage stamp. I looked around to see their reactions. Gandalf looked thoughtful (As always), Pippin looked amazed, Legolas looked curious, with his arm around Nikki, who was gazing intently at a recreation of the war of the second age. Sam was watching in a mixed expression of amazement and fear, and Frodo showed no emotion, but his arm around me tightened whenever anything evil appeared on screen. I smiled and put my arm around him. Finally it came to the part I was dreading.  
  
Isildur.  
  
I watched as, as if in slow motion, the Dark Lord advanced on Isildur, as Narsil was broken, and as the Ring was cut from Sauron's finger. I gulped, as it was far more vivid now than ever before. The journey of the Ring was then traced from Isildur to the Anduin to Gollum.  
  
Gollum.  
  
As soon as that foul creature came on screen, I felt Frodo stiffen beside me and heard Sam take a sharp breath. Gandalf remained as thoughtful, if not more thoughtful, than before. Then, as the narrator mentioned Bilbo's name, everyone smiled. Then the screen blacked out.  
  
After a second, a view of green grass and trees came into view. The camera circled around and into view came Frodo (AN: IT'S ELIJAH! NOTE TO SELF: GET IT RIGHT NEXT TIME!). I smiled as he jumped up and rushed away through the forest to Gandalf's cart.  
  
" 'You're late.' 'A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.' "  
  
Laughter and smiles at this. I smiled and looked at Frodo, who was looking fixedly at the screen. I smiled and sat back. This was more like it. As the view changed to a beautiful view of Hobbiton, everyone smiled, including me. Oh, how much I missed the Shire. As the matters grew more serious, the grins faded, but they returned as soon as the party scene came up. As Merry and Pippin were introduced, via firework pilfering, everyone smiled, and the Hobbits laughed out loud.  
  
Through the movie it remained as much, with the group laughing, "Ooh"ing and "Ahh"ing in all the right places. The only person who had any problems with the way the journey was presented was Pippin, whining and complaining at every minor plot inconsistency. Whispers of "Glorfindel! Where's Glorfindel!?" and "Sam was supposed to look in the mirror too!" could be heard from his direction. Whenever a new character was introduced or anything momentous happened, such as Khazad-Dum, Isengard, Weathertop, and Boromir's death, the people involved or touched by that part of the journey, or, in most cases, all who had been present, shuddered. During the Weathertop scene, I felt Frodo shudder and gasp quietly next to me. I squeezed him to me in a half-hug, putting my head on his shoulder to comfort him.  
  
  
  
After the movie was over, everyone began to stretch and get up.  
  
"Wait," I said slyly, don't you want to see the next bit?"  
  
"Next bit?" Frodo asked.  
  
"Well, there's a preview of the next movie if you want to see it."  
  
Everyone consented and sat back down. I clicked on the next document, the trailer for the Two Towers. Everyone sat and watched. Audible gasps were heard from almost everyone when Gandalf appeared.  
  
"Black eyebrows!" Pippin exclaimed at this. "He has white eyebrows!" We all looked at Gandalf and Pippin was right. I shook my head. He was beginning to scare me with his doing impersonations of Rachel without knowing it. (Olorin-don't hate me because I'm beeeeautiful!)  
  
When the trailer had one scene left, I gulped. I knew what was coming. A view of Sam and Frodo changed to a view of Gollum crawling down the cliff face. Frodo cringed and bit his lip and Sam drew his breath sharply. I hugged Frodo with one arm as the grey figure spoke.  
  
"We'll get them, those dirty thieves, the thieves who stole my preciousss!"  
  
Frodo's eyes widened in real life just as they snapped open in the preview. It ended, the computer screen fading into dark. I closed the program down, shut down my computer, and turned on the lights. Blinking up at me, my companions stretched and inquired about what we would do now.  
  
"I don't know," I said.  
  
"How about some more music?" Sam suggested.  
  
I shrugged. "I got it!" I exclaimed, running to my mom's CD cabinet and pulling out a Beach Boys CD. I put it into my mom's stereo, the one in the living room, and turned it on. "I Get Around" came on.  
  
Round, round, get around, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
"Kind of repetitive, isn't it?" Pippin remarked. I rolled my eyes. How I was going to last two months was lost to me.  
  
I'm getting' bummed drivin' up and down the same old strip  
  
I gotta find a new place where the kids are hip  
  
My buddies and me are getting' real well known  
  
Yeah, the bad guys know us and they leave us alone  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
Get around, round, round, I get around  
  
I get a round, round, round, round, get a round, round, round  
  
Wah-Wah-Wahooooo….  
  
Wah-Wah-Wahooooo….  
  
Wah-Wah-Wahooooo….  
  
Wah-Wah-Wahooooo….  
  
We always take my car 'cause it's never been beat  
  
And we've never missed yet with the girls we meet  
  
At this, Pippin raised an eyebrow. I shook my head and spoke to Pippin.  
  
"Come closer. I feel like smacking someone."  
  
At this, I stopped the music, as everyone looked bored.  
  
"My life isn't that interesting, I guess," I said, in response to their sudden boredom.  
  
"Sure it is," Frodo said. I turned to him, grinning. "What do YOU think we should do, then?"  
  
He paled slightly. I scratched my head, trying to remember what I used to do, before Frodo had come here, but it seemed so long ago. It WAS so long ago…  
  
There was a block party in a few days, I remembered. We had those once or twice a year, since we lived in a fairly rural area. Ooh, I almost forgot WHY we were having a block party! Gandalf would be thrilled… The Fourth of July… THIS was going to be fun… 


	4. FOUR- no more nagging, Olorin!

Chapter Four- of Fireworks and Romance  
  
  
  
Olorin, you are SO going to kill me after this chapter- lmao, don't hurt me TOO bad. I wanna still be able to do five things: see, hear, write (includes typing), talk, and the fifth, you don't wanna know. (Just kidding, I'm not THAT sick)  
  
Also, please IGNORE the fact that Rosie and Sam were romantically involved- several things have changed from  
  
Wow, Jesus, as of the writing of this author's note, this chapter is ALMOST as long as that REALLY long, 12 ½ page chapter from ROTR…  
  
Legolas sat on the hammock in Leah's backyard. Everyone else was at the party, but he wanted to be alone. To think. To think about…  
  
A figure approached from out of the shadows and sat next to him. He looked over, but, try as he might, he could not see their face. In spite of the fact that his face was clearly visible in the pale moonlight, He could not see the stranger's face as they sat back in the hammock.  
  
"Who is it?" He asked tentatively.  
  
"Nikki," came the voice. He smiled and put his arm around her. She turned her head to him and he leaned in to kiss her. After a long, slow kiss, they broke apart.  
  
"Even though I greatly appreciate your affections and you are a wonderful kisser, I'm sorry to say…"  
  
"Sorry to say what?" He asked.  
  
"That I'm the wrong Nikki."  
  
Legolas' face must have gone very pale or very red, because she laughed.  
  
"Shit." Though elves seldom swore, he felt this was a proper occasion.  
  
"I'll get the one you're looking for."  
  
He murmured his thanks as she walked back into the shadows. Five minutes later, Nikki (hopefully for the elf dude, the RIGHT Nikki this time) walked over and sat next to him. She laughed.  
  
"Identity crisis, eh?" She asked, laugher in her voice, cutting like a knife through the dark, crisp evening air.  
  
"Oh, so you heard?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So sorry."  
  
"Oh, it's okay."  
  
He smiled and put his arm around Nikki once more. She returned his smile and she leaned into the gentle embrace of his chest. A few moments passed before they heard a loud whistle. Legolas sat up, straight, silent, and alert, and Nikki frowned. They realized what the sound was in a few moments, when the sky exploded in a shower of brilliantly colored sparks.  
  
She sighed, smiling, and leaned back against him.  
  
"I love you," They both said at the same time. Legolas laughed.  
  
"I haven't been this happy for…. god… well, I haven't been this happy in a long time."  
  
"Me either."  
  
He leaned in to meet her soft lips, tilting her head upwards with one hand while he wrapped the other around her waist. She smiled as Legolas leaned into her, catching her by surprise and making her breath catch in her throat and her heart beat wildly. She smiled and began to unbutton his shirt…  
  
  
  
Back at the party, everyone else was having a great time. Learning how to dance to fast music and pop music and seeing others accomplish this task was quite a shock for most. After the original complaints from most about indecency, my companions got dancing down pretty well.  
  
After a while, at around midnight, everyone got pretty tired. The grownups began to get tired, and most went inside. As the area was fairly rural, most adults trusted their children. After a while, a few friends of mine (including Andrea and Ivy, who had gotten better) began to gather around. Soon, there was a group of four: Ivy, Andrea, Nikki, and Rachel. I looked around and saw where my other companions were standing. As Andrea and Ivy had already been filled in on the presence of the Hobbits, elf, and wizard, they were not surprised. My friends watched as I got my trademark mischief expression.  
  
"Oh shit." Rachel said, as I began to smile and walked over to where everyone was dancing.  
  
"Hey, everyone, I've got an idea."  
  
Pippin immediately stopped dancing. "Oh no…"  
  
Everyone started cracking up after he said this. As the laughter died down, I spoke.  
  
"We're going back to Middle Earth."  
  
"Why?" Frodo asked with a confused expression.  
  
"To get everyone else."  
  
"YES!" Pippin said. I looked at him and he promptly blushed. I grabbed the chain out of my pocket, where I had kept it since I got here, just in case. I held it out to everyone.  
  
"Shouldn't we get Nikki and Legolas?" Asked Pippin.  
  
"Yeah, I haven't seen them all night." Frodo said with an evil grin.  
  
I shook my head. "Everyone who came without having someone else in their point of view should stay behind. That includes Nikki and Legolas, although I WOULD like to know what they're doing."  
  
With a quick flash of light, we were gone.  
  
  
  
When I got back to my world, with a few more companions than last time, I gathered everyone together, including my friends.  
  
"Time for a game." I said, with an evil grin.  
  
Most frowned, trying to figure out what I meant.  
  
I ran up to the porch, where I dug through the recycling bin and pulled out an empty martinelli's bottle. I grinned, and Nikki smacked her forehead. Rachel's eyes widened, and Ivy and Andrea exchanged glances and grinned.  
  
"Spin the bottle."  
  
Like thieves, we stealthily made our way to the backyard. Frodo, who was going first, exclaimed loudly.  
  
"HOLY CRAP!"  
  
"What?" I asked him. As I caught up with him, staring open-mouthed into the backyard, I followed his gaze and saw what it was that made his eyes widen so.  
  
"Oh, shit!" Came my daughter's voice.  
  
"What is it?" Came Legolas' voice.  
  
"My parents!"  
  
"Oh god…"  
  
Exchanging glances with Frodo, we both turned on our heels and ushered everyone back.  
  
"HOLY GOD!" the other Nikki exclaimed. "I guess I shouldn't have told him it was the wrong Nikki!"  
  
I smacked her.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"She's my DAUGHTER!"  
  
"So?"  
  
I shook my head. In a few minutes, Nikki and Legolas walked in, catching their breath and straightening their clothes.  
  
"Hey, mom!" Nikki said cheerfully.  
  
I shook my head solemnly at her. Her expression quickly grew to one of fright, and she began to stutter.  
  
"Nikki, Nikki, Nikki." I said, pretending to adopt my mothers' stern tone. Her eyes grew wide and she stepped back as I stood in silence.  
  
"Don't hurt me, please!" she whimpered.  
  
"You truly are your mother's daughter." I said with a laugh. She pretended to laugh too, and started to sneak away. I caught her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her back.  
  
"How was he?"  
  
She stared at me at this, and I began laughing. I was, of course, just kidding, but Nikki didn't seem to realize this.  
  
"MOM!" She exclaimed.  
  
"Jesus, I was only joking!"  
  
"Oh, okay then."  
  
  
  
After we had all gotten seated in a circle in the backyard, and everyone had become quiet, I quietly explained the rules, for those not familiar with our (according to some of my guests) disgusting culture.  
  
"You spin the bottle around in the circle," I explained, placing the empty sparkling cider bottle in the middle of the circle, "And you get to, or in certain cases, have to kiss the person it lands on. If it lands on someone of the same sex, or, in certain cases, (I blushed) your children, you spin again. Oh, and all the kisses have to be on the lips."  
  
Satisfied (Or, in certain cases, horrified) with this explanation, my companions nodded.  
  
"Everyone who wants to play, stay in the circle. Otherwise, sit out now."  
  
After this statement, Gandalf and Aragorn slipped out of the circle. The rest of us scooted in, closing the gap.  
  
"Now," I said, grasping the bottle, "I'll spin to see who goes first."  
  
I spun the bottle. It spun for a few seconds before slowing and stopping on Rachel. She smacked her forehead.  
  
"You gotta spin," Nikki (friend) said. "It's the rules."  
  
Rachel glared at her before reaching out and spinning the bottle. It spun around and around before finally landing on my son. I could have sworn I saw a slight smile on Rachel's face as she leaned forward to kiss him. Frodo and I, coordinating silently, both said "awwww…" just as their lips met. They kissed for a brief second before going back to their spots.  
  
"Sam, spin." He leaned forward and obliged. His spin landed on Nikki (the FRIEND. I'm not THAT sick.) and he leaned forward and kissed her. Her time then came to spin. As it was still spinning, I whispered to Frodo of what I was going to do. Sneaking stealthily into the house, I grabbed my battery- operated boom box. Coming back outside, I saw Pippin spinning. I set the boom box down behind me and sat back down.  
  
"What did I miss?" I asked Frodo quietly.  
  
"Umm… Nikki landed on Samwise, who landed on Ivy, who landed on Merry, who landed on Andrea, who landed on Pippin." I nodded and looked back, to see everyone looking at me, and the bottle pointed in my direction.  
  
"Bloody hell."  
  
I took a sip of my Dr. Pepper, sitting on the ground next to me, and pushed Play on my boom box. Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean" came on, as loud as I dared to have it with my parents asleep. I looked at Pippin, who was leaning forward with an inquiring eyebrow raised. I raised my left hand, showing off my simple wedding band, a small circlet of silver.  
  
Nikki grinned evilly. "You gotta do it."  
  
"Bloody hell."  
  
"You like that phrase, don't you?" came a voice as I leaned in to kiss Pippin. After a few seconds, I pushed him away.  
  
"Shit!" I exclaimed, gargling Dr. Pepper and spitting it onto the grass next to me.  
  
"Sorry about that," I added in an undertone to Frodo.  
  
"What? Did he slip you the tongue?" My daughter asked evilly.  
  
"YES!"  
  
I could have sworn I heard Andrea say something, which sounded like something that rhymed with "mucky ditch." I raised an eyebrow (a feat which I had FINALLY mastered) in her direction, and she paled and pretended to talk to my son, sitting next to her. I shook my head and spun.  
  
Thank Elbereth; it landed on Frodo, so that kiss wasn't that hard. Then, it was Frodo's spin. In the center of the circle it finally spun, before landing on me again. I shook my head, laughing, as everyone started cracking up and we kissed. Then, of course, I had to spin again. This time it landed on Legolas. I leaned forward and he leaned forward and we kissed.  
  
"MOM!" Came Nikki's voice.  
  
"Well," I said innocently, "He IS a good kisser." I winked at her.  
  
"LEAH!" came Frodo's voice this time. I put an arm around him.  
  
"Only kidding."  
  
"Oh, well, in THAT case…"  
  
I shook my head. Legolas reached forward to spin the bottle, and it landed on Nikki.  
  
The WRONG Nikki.  
  
"Crap!" My daughter's voice came again as Legolas and her namesake leaned forward and kissed. I laughed as my friend began to spin. The spin landed on Frodo, and I watched the slight look of horror I though I saw on Frodo's face before he caught himself and kissed her.  
  
Bottle spinning in the middle of the circle, this being Frodo's turn, I held my breath, hoping it would land on me. It didn't. It landed on Rachel. I snickered, watching another slight spasm flit across Frodo's face as he leaned in to kiss her. Then Rachel spun.  
  
The bottle went around the circle several times before settling her fate- to kiss Pippin.  
  
"Okay, tongue boy. C'mere."  
  
He grinned as she leaned forward to meet his lips. She broke apart, ran a few meters away, and was almost immediately violently sick in the bushes. I started cracking up but my laughing subsided as the bottle landed on me.  
  
"Crap! Not again!" I muttered, leaning in to kiss him. I employed what little genius I had and he came out of the kiss nursing a sore mouth.  
  
"What happened?" Andrea asked evilly.  
  
"She bit my tongue!"  
  
"Serves you right!" Frodo exclaimed, as I started laughing uncontrollably.  
  
"It's getting late." I said, as I stopped laughing. Then, remembering the look of shock and surprise on Pippin's face, I dissolved once more into hysterical fits of laughter.  
  
"Yeah, we should probably go to sleep."  
  
Because that night was a nice summer night, and it was the fourth of July, my parents had allowed me to set up our two-room tent in the substantially large backyard. How we were going to fit all of us in the tent, even though it was a good-sized tent, I had no clue. It was decided that the five of us who were visible to other people would sleep nearest the door. I slept fifth from the door, with Frodo curled up next to me. Because we had insisted, Nikki and Legolas slept next to him, and then Sam, Samwise, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, and Gandalf. Just as we had gotten to sleep, we were woken by Merry and Pippin.  
  
"THIS time, Pip, we light it OUTSIDE the tent."  
  
"Right."  
  
I sat up, as did everyone else, once they had realized what Merry and Pippin were going to do.  
  
"MERRY! PIPP-" I was cut off by the sound of a firework going off.  
  
"Shit!" I swore quietly, leaping out of the open tent door, right over my friends, who ducked. I stopped them, just as they were about to light another one.  
  
"Stop!" they looked up, and, to my great shock, obeyed.  
  
Everyone else flooded out of the tent.  
  
"Well," I said, surveying the damage, "we might as well set the rest off."  
  
"The rest?" Andrea and Ivy asked.  
  
Merry and Pippin guiltily spilled the contents of their pockets, which I recognized to be the various fireworks which had gone missing from the large firework store I had been saving my money all summer to buy.  
  
"MERRY! PIPPIN!"  
  
They looked down at the ground as I scooped up the fireworks, grinning.  
  
"I always knew she was a pyromaniac." Said Rachel, softly but loud enough for me to hear.  
  
"I heard that!" I said, "How did you find out my secret!?"  
  
Everyone started laughing, and I set the fireworks down far enough from the house that they wouldn't wake anyone. I pulled the book of matches from my pocket and lit the first one.  
  
Through the course of the night- or, rather, MORNING, Gandalf bewitched the fireworks before I set them off, often consulting me for ideas. Then, it came down to the last firework. I thought for a second and smiled. I stood on the tips of my toes to whisper in his ear and he  
  
smiled and nodded. He then waved his staff and said a couple of words. Ushering everyone away from the firework, I set if off and jumped back.  
  
The rocket shot into the air, and began to take on a cone shape of golden sparks. As it reached the top, everyone present recognized the firework, either from being present at The Party, or from hearing about it.  
  
The golden cone reached its peak height and turned red at the top, sparks freezing for a few seconds in midair before the top of the cone burst upward and swooped back towards us, taking on the form of a dragon with its wings outstretched. I grinned, and looked at Frodo, who was smiling up at the firework. He looked into my eyes for a brief moment and put an arm around me. I grinned, my head sinking into his chest.  
  
When the firework had finally exploded in its final shower of sparks, having swooped back and forth over our heads several times, We all stood in silence for a few moments before i announced that it was time to go to bed, for good this time. We got into the tent and almost everyone promptly collapsed. There was quite a bit of whispering before silence fell, sometime around dawn. 


	5. chapter five- home again

1 Chapter Five- of Romance  
  
A/N: Sorry for any errors whatsoever, but I can't spel!  
  
When I woke up the next morning, to find Frodo curled up contentedly at my side, I yawned and did my best to stretch without waking him. Pulling an extra pillow under his head, I slid my arm out from under him. He looked so much younger. Of course, we both were, because we returned in the same condition we had been in when we left. He sighed, rolled over, and gently clasped the covers in one hand, pulling them up in an almost childlike way. I smiled and stepped over Ivy and Andrea, meaning that Nikki and Rachel were gone. Looking back, I saw that Sam and Samwise were also gone.  
  
Stepping blinking into the sunlight, I looked around in search of my missing companions. I saw two figures sitting at the foot of a tree, one with an arm around the other, and two sitting in the hammock, talking. On closer examination, I discovered the people by the tree to be Rachel and Samwise. I smiled. I looked over at the hammock just in time to see Sam lean in and kiss Nikki, my friend, on the cheek. She blushed and he put an arm around her. I smiled and whistled, causing her to blush further. Turning around to go back to the tent, I ran right into Frodo. He smiled and leaned down to kiss me.  
  
This time it was not I who was whistling, but others. Everyone was clapping and laughing and howling, and a distinctive "Go, Mr. Frodo!" could be heard from the direction of the tree. We broke apart, laughing, and we all headed back to the tent to sit and talk.  
  
******* Five hours earlier *******  
  
Rachel woke up, bathed in sweat. The nightmares had been getting consistently worse each night. Leah's memories, she figured. Opening the tent flap with a shaky hand, she stepped out into the cold moonlight, shivering very slightly. Looking around, she noticed a lone figure at the base of a tree. Curious as to whom it was, she walked cautiously, remembering the nightmares, towards the tree.  
  
On closer inspection, she noticed the figure was shaking, choking on dry sobs. She squinted through the darkness to see who it was.  
  
"Sam?" she called out tentatively. The figure looked up, and she saw she was right. He looked back down and continued to sob, and she approached slowly.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, crouching next to him and putting a friendly arm around his shoulders. He swallowed.  
  
"Bad memories… Horrible nightmares…" he choked on his words and continued to cry, now with tears streaming down his cheeks. She sat down, hugging him.  
  
"It's okay. You're safe now." She whispered to him as he cried into her shoulder. There was a long pause, and she had begun to think he had fallen asleep when he spoke.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
She smiled. She released her right arm, keeping the other in a half-hug around him, but still with her body slightly turned to him. He tilted his head up, eye level with her, and she frowned, looking into his eyes. He dried his face off and lowered his head again. Filled with pity for someone with a life filled with so many hardships, she put a hand out and gently stroked his cheek. He raised his eyes to look at her, and she lifted his chin.  
  
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. After a second spent gathering what courage she could, she leaned in and kissed him.  
  
After a slow moment passed, she pulled back slightly, putting a little distance between them. He looked into her eyes, and she into his, for a slow moment before he leaned in again.  
  
******* Four and a half hours later *******  
  
Sam woke up. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep the rest of the night- he kept having nightmares. Memories of things from their journey. Of darkness, of shadow, of-  
  
He got up, to go outside to seek refuge in the cold night air. Stepping outside, he looked around, trying to figure out where he could go. He saw two figures by a tree, so he couldn't go there. He decided to go sit in the hammock.  
  
A few minutes later, rocking in the hammock, he saw a figure approaching. As she walked out from beneath a tree, and moonlight fell across her face, Sam recognized her as Nikki, his mother's friend.  
  
"Sam?" she called, not knowing one of her friends had said the same thing with much of the same puzzlement a while ago. She walked over to the hammock where he was sitting and sat next to him.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"Couldn't sleep," he replied.  
  
"Me neither," she said.  
  
They sat in silence for a second before he put an arm around her.  
  
******* Later, around lunch time *******  
  
After Ivy, Andrea, Nikki, and Rachel had gone home, I went into my room and collapsed on my bed, exhausted. Shortly after, Frodo came in and sat down next to me. I smiled and leaned in as he put an arm around my shoulders. We sat in silence for a short while before I spoke.  
  
"Where's everyone else?"  
  
He thought for a second. "Last I checked, Nikki and Legolas were making out in the hammock, both Sams were wandering around in the garden, Merry and Pippin were wandering around the battlefield of old fireworks looking for any that hadn't been set off yet, and Gandalf and Aragorn were talking in hushed voices about something."  
  
I frowned at the last part, but was mostly happy with the report. I grabbed the remote off the bedside table for the stereo.  
  
"You want some music? It's Smash Mouth."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Though adapting to modern music had been quite a leap for some, many of my companions had really gotten into it. Legolas and Aragorn had taken a liking to Santana and the Beatles, My son and daughter had begun to enjoy pretty much anything, possessing their mother's good taste in music (A/N: (), and the hobbits liked most music.  
  
Pointing the remote at the shelf against the far wall, where the stereo sat, I pushed play.  
  
'Do you believe everything that you read, everything that you see on the set? You look around at your sleepy little town and think that this is as good as it gets.'  
  
I smiled, but began to frown as there was a knock on the door. I turned off the music and got up. Opening the door, I saw my mom. She spoke.  
  
"I'm going next door to talk to Jean, okay?" She asked.  
  
I nodded. "Okay, mom." She turned and left.  
  
"Who's Jean?" asked Frodo.  
  
"Nikki's mom."  
  
"Oh."  
  
I sat back down for a second but immediately jumped up to a very small knock on the door. Frowning, wondering whom it was, I went to the door. As I opened it, I came face to face with Gandalf and Aragorn. Peeking around the corner to make sure my mom was safely out of hearing range, I asked them why they wanted to talk to me.  
  
"We must leave soon." Gandalf said.  
  
"Why?" I questioned, puzzled.  
  
"You can stay here if you want, but Mithrandir and I must leave soon. Tonight, if we can. We have had dreams and visions. Evil is stirring in Middle Earth, and Elrond needs us." Aragorn said.  
  
I frowned, thinking. "I'm coming with you." I said, finally.  
  
"Why?" Aragorn asked. "Don't you want to spend the rest of your time here?"  
  
I shook my head. "Do you really think I'd let you guys have all the fun?" I asked, grinning.  
  
"You're sure?" Gandalf asked.  
  
I adopted a serious tone. "I am indeed, Gandalf."  
  
He nodded. "So be it. We leave tomorrow night, to give you a little more time."  
  
I nodded, and they walked off. I stood in the doorway for a second, thinking. Tomorrow night? We'd only spent a week here… and I'd never get to come again… but if evil really was becoming active in Middle Earth, they'd need all the help they could get. I turned back to Frodo.  
  
" I'm going to go tell my friends, alright?"  
  
"Okay…are you sure you want to go?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Alright, I guess it's you choice."  
  
I nodded and went to the kitchen to get something to eat before going to talk to my friends.  
  
I grabbed a knife out of the knife drawer. Déjà vu… That was the same knife I tried to use last December, when…  
  
I absentmindedly grabbed a bagel from the bread basket, pulled out the cutting board, and began to cut.  
  
So we were going back to Middle Earth? That meant I'd never be able to return home, that I'd never see my friends or family again… Luckily we were having a post-fourth of July bonfire that night…  
  
I looked down at the bagel, and kept cutting, cutting, cut-  
  
I felt a jolt of pain shoot up my left hand as I cut my finger.  
  
"SHIT!" I yelled. Frodo walked in, as I grabbed a towel from the towel rack and began to attempt to stem the bleeding.  
  
"Oh, crap." He said.  
  
I walked past him, in a hurry to get next door, because Nikki's mother Jean was a doctor.  
  
When I got outside, I saw my mom talking to Nikki's mom, and Nikki sitting on the lawn drawing. My mom looked up as I ran towards her.  
  
"What-" She began, but stopped when she saw the blood-soaked towel. Jean removed it so she could see the wound, but replaced the makeshift bandage when a new wave of bleeding began. She ushered me inside.  
  
"You're going to need stitches," she said. I bit my lip, and Nikki walked in the room. Jean rummaged around, pulling out a box and getting out a needle, thread that looked like fishing line, and a lighter. She lit the lighter and ran the needle through it, to sterilize the needle. She then threaded it and began to make neat, precise stitches in my finger. I looked at Nikki.  
  
"Go get Rachel, Ivy, and Andrea." I said. "I need to talk to them."  
  
She nodded and went to find them.  
  
Twenty minutes and four stitches later, I emerged into the yard after thanking Jean.  
  
"No problem," She said.  
  
I turned to Nikki and everyone.  
  
"I have bad news."  
  
"Uh-oh…" Nikki said.  
  
"I have to leave."  
  
Quiet.  
  
"But why?" Rachel asked, frowning.  
  
"We've heard news that evil is stirring. We must go."  
  
"Crap." Everyone said simultaneously.  
  
"Can we come?" Ivy asked.  
  
"I don't know…"  
  
"Of course we're coming," Nikki said. She grinned. "You'd have to tie us up in a sack to stop us."  
  
I rolled my eyes. "I'll ask."  
  
I sped into my backyard, where I found Gandalf.  
  
"Cansomofmyfrenscomwitus?"  
  
"What?" Gandalf asked. I laughed.  
  
"Can… can some of my friends come with us?"  
  
He thought for a second.  
  
"Yes, just as long as they know they can probably never come back."  
  
I nodded. "Thanks," I said, and ran off.  
  
I went back to where my friends were.  
  
"What did he say!?" Andrea asked, with bated breath.  
  
"He said yes," I said. She cheered.  
  
"As long as you know you can probably never come back."  
  
She frowned for a moment, and then grinned.  
  
"The way I see it is not, 'you will never see home again', but rather 'you never have to do housework again.' "  
  
I laughed. "But is everyone still coming?"  
  
A chorus of "Yes" 's replied, and I smiled. This was going to be great… 


End file.
